Technical Field
The following relates generally to the field of infant gloves and in particular to a glove, including, for example, a mitten, that may be worn by an infant or toddler and may be configured with a pacifier thereon.
State of the Art
Pacifiers can be an infant caregiver's dream. Pacifiers are often utilized by parents, or caregivers, to calm, or otherwise soothe, an agitated baby. Infants, and all mammals for that matter, are born with a rooting and sucking reflex. These reflexes complement one another to cause the infant to instinctively suck anything that touches the roof of its mouth, and simulates the way an infant naturally eats. It follows that a pacifier placed in an infant's mouth triggers this reflex. In addition, it is widely believed that the act of sucking triggers a calming reflex in the infant, thus helping to calm and soothe an otherwise agitated infant.
Pacifiers are known in the art. Because of their same general purpose, different brands of pacifiers often have a similar common design. Pacifiers are generally comprised of a mouth shield, which is often comprised of rigid plastic, with a resilient teat, often comprised of rubber, plastic, or silicone, centrally located on one side of the mouth shield and protruding therefrom, and a handle on the opposing side of the mouth shield, opposite the teat.
The mouth shield is usually designed to be large enough to abut the infant's mouth without the infant being able to place the entire mouth shield within the infant's mouth, for safety. The attached teat is configured to enter the infant's mouth and cause the infant to begin sucking, via reflex. The handle permits the caregiver to pull on the handle to dislodge the pacifier from the infant's mouth, as needed.
In some cases, an infant will disengage the pacifier in its own mouth by ceasing to perform the sucking reflex, thus causing the pacifier to fall out of the infant's mouth. In other cases, the infant will grip and pull on the handle and unwittingly dislodge the pacifier from its mouth. Under such circumstances, if the caregiver wishes for the infant to continue to use the pacifier, the caregiver must find the pacifier and physically place the pacifier back into the infant's mouth until the infant reengages the pacifier via the sucking reflex. This process may need to be repeated and maintained until the infant is either asleep or soothed without the need of the pacifier. This can be particularly burdensome at night.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and/or system that incorporates an infant pacifier that addresses the concerns described above.